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Council Tax Valuations | Rebanding Companies - What You Need to Know | Council Tax Rebates

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A Quick Guide to Council Tax Re-Banding!

Council Tax is just one of those things here in the UK that we all have to put up with and stomach. It's a tax we have to pay that goes towards the upkeep of the Local Government for an area and it helps to pay for the police, fire services and upkeep for other services that our Councils and Local Authorities provide. Council Tax is the annual levy placed on a home and how much is owed for that property is decided based on its assumed capital value in 1991 in England and Scotland.

What You can Do If You're In The Wrong B...
Council Tax Re-Banding Companies and Age...

What Is Council Tax?

A property is placed into one of eight bands between A and H and the banding is decided based on factors such as living space, value, floor area and other key factors. Band A been the lowest and band H been the most expensive tax rate for the largest of homes. The Value Office Agency (VOA) are the organisation who are in charge of regulating council tax bandings and are in control of making adjustments to bandings that are incorrect.

Some Homes Got Put into the Wrong Band

The bulk majority are correct; however out of the 22 million homes in the UK, a significant, small proportion of homes were incorrectly banded when the initial valuations took place in the early nineties. Estimations from various media reports speculate that between one and three million homes could well have been put in the wrong council tax band. This means there may be a chance to get a council tax rebate for some tax payers who were placed in a too high band, dating right back until 1993. They will also make a saving each year on how much tax they will have to pay.

So How Did All of this Happen?

The background of it all goes something like this. In the late eighties, Margaret Thatcher had introduced the poll tax or sometimes known as the community charge. It was very unpopular amongst the UK population, and many people felt that poorer families where getting the worst end of the deal as it seemed to shift the tax burden from the rich to poor. It was a tax per head based on how many people lived at an address. Riots began in protest and mass defaulting (people not paying the tax) began to emerge up and down the country.
Something needed to change quickly and the council tax was drafted in through the Local Government Finance Act 1992. John Major replaced Margret Thatcher as the new conservative prime minister and he got the ball rolling with the new tax system.

One the biggest flaws were that it was rushed into place. It was down to the estate agents and VOA officers up and down the Country to band every home in a very short time frame of a matter of weeks. This was done through 'Drive By Valuations' and involved literally driving down streets and quickly deciding on the banding for each home as they passed. The enormous task, short time frame and scale of the operation have led to some media coverage coining the term "2nd gear Valuations" which is probably not too far from the truth.

Another major problem with the current system is that homes built after 1991 are still based on the original system (Their Value of 1991) and because of the massive inflation of house prices since then, it can sometimes be difficult to accurately work out the price of how much a new house would have been worth back then.

What You can Do If You're In The Wrong Band

If you think your home could have been incorrectly banded and you have been paying too much council tax there are a few options you can take. You could appeal to the VOA yourself or get a reputable agent or re-banding company to do it for you which will involve a fee. Be aware though, that there have been some unscrupulous, wrong-doing firms operating in the re-banding industry but more about this soon.

In some cases there may be a chance for a home to be re-banded quickly by making contact with the VOA directly. In other cases it may need to go through a formal appeal process which will involve putting together an appeal case and set of documents in a certain format with evidence to the VOA. Many people have been told by the VOA they can't appeal if they have been living at an address for more than six months however it is the duty of the VOA to maintain a fair and accurate valuation list and they have a duty to make sure that bandings are correct. With a bit of persistence it is still possible to make an appeal after 6 months of living at an address. For people who have been rejected and still feel they are in the wrong band, there is a Valuations tribunal which the council tax payer can get involved to have the final say.

You should first of all check that neighbours who live in a similar house are in a lower band than you and also find out how much the value of the property would have been worth in 1991. There is a valuations search on the government website which can help you do this. Websites such as Rightmove should give you an idea on the value of a property.

Check the value list below and if this matches up as a lower valued band to the current one you are in, you may be in with a chance of lowering your council tax band. It needs to be said though that if you do appeal to the VOA, you can't say," I think I'm paying too much Council Tax" or "I think my band is too high". The process will be a case of them re-assessing your property. You need to be certain of your banding as the appeal could mean they decide that your current banding is currently too low which would mean your banding would increase, and you would end up paying more in council tax each year. Homeowners who have had building work done since 1991 such as extensions to increase living space, conservatries and even garages should be aware that they may well find a re-assessment could put them into a higher council tax band.

Council Tax Re-Banding Companies and Agents

Just like using an Estate Agent, Travel Agent, Energy Broker or other middle man to do all of the work, there are agents or companies who will take on a case to appeal a banding for you. It needs to be said though that there have been some rogue companies in the re-banding industry who have not been playing fairly. Some have been charging customers upfront fees in excess of £150 and then doing nothing at all apart from taking the customers money. There has been widespread coverage in the media about some of these companies. There have also been warnings about scammers who have imitating people from local councils claiming that they are in the wrong band and asking for bank details in order to receive a rebate. Anyone who has been subject to any of these kinds of calls should call the police or trading standards as councils will not contact a taxpayer in this way.

There are guidelines which have been set out by the VOA to avoid people being scammed. You should not be paying upfront fees, administration charges or any so called solicitor or surveyor's fees for getting a company to make an appeal case and put it forward to the VOA. You should not be giving them any bank or financial details because if you successfully get your council tax band lowered, you will receive the rebate directly from your Local Council or Local Authority. Any agent or member of a re-banding company who has contacted you should be able to give you their full name, contact details and business address. There should be no false promises, deceit or any hard selling tactics whatsoever.

Experts Who Can Help

Not all re-banding companies are the same. There are credible and professionally ran companies such as Council Tax Valuations who have a high level of expertise and work ethics when it comes to council tax re-banding and will be able to do their own council tax valuation first on a property. They will know from their assessments if you have a strong case for getting your council tax band lowered. This means there will be no risks of ending up accidently in a higher council tax banding or being rejected for incorrectly submitting an appeal document. They offer a no win; no fee service and as a professional business have a duty towards customer care, service and data protection. They have an ex Valuations Office Agency Surveyor working for them who whilst working at the office was in charge of banding properties around the UK, with this level of expertise there really is no better way to get your home re-banded.

Council Tax Calculator

At the council tax Valuations website, they have a Council Tax Calculator app that can give a rough estimation of how much you may be entitled to in the case that you successfully appealed your banding lower. They have given permission to show it here however it is purely for display purposes and will only work at their website. It basically takes your current band and negates the difference of the lower band and multiplies by the amount of years you have paid council tax at that address. It is worth noting that you do not have to be a homeowner to receive a rebate (just the tax payer) and you can still apply for a rebate for addresses you have previously lived at if it's banding was adjusted to a lower band.